Questioning
Questioning - The Art of Teaching
The strategy that can have the greatest impact on student thinking is teacher questioning. The level of student thinking, in fact, is directly proportional to the level of the questions asked.
There is no such thing as a dumb question, because as cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham notes in his book Why Don't Students Like School?, it's the question that stimulates curiosity -- being told the answer quells curiosity before it can even get going.
So rather than jumping straight into the answers, let's try to start students off with the sort of questions that encourage them to do their own seeking.
How can teachers provide students with a meaningful context for learning? How can teachers encourage students to think deeply? By effectively asking intriguing, open-ended questions we can motivate students to learn.
What questions tend to spark greater curiosity among your students?
Students engage when given questions that interest them and arouse their curiosity. Questions help students see connections between the subject matter and their own lives. They help make learning relevant.
Essential Questions help students recognize WHY and HOW and they encourage inquiry, discussion and research.
Content Questions help students identify the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE. They focus on the factual information that students must learn.
Review this section to learn the power of asking the right questions. You will also find questioning cards attached for each level of Bloom. These should be used to help you effectively plan. For each Bloom level you will find question prompts on the front and example activities on the back.
Activating Activity: Choose one of the following prompts and respond: "Good thinking starts with good questions." Or "Good learning starts with questions, not answers."
Work Period: While watching the video about questioning, think about strategies you might want to use in your classroom. What types of questions should you use the most? What types of questions should you use the least? How long should you wait between asking a question and calling on a student? Print the questioning cards and add them to your planning materials.
Video Questioning : https://youtu.be/XlvGGCUlsiw
Summarizing Activity: Print or draw the shaping up document. In the heart, write one thing you "loved" about effective questioning. In the square, write 4 things that you feel are important to know. In the triangle, write 3 important facts you learned about teacher questioning - one in each corner. In the circle, write one all encompassing (global) statement summarizing the concepts and facts learned.
Teacher Question Cards
Print a set of question cards. Fold the sheets in half and laminate for each level of Bloom's Taxonomy. Punch a hole in the top left corner and attach a metal key ring to complete your question card set.
Use these question prompts when planning and instructing. Concentrate on staying at the top levels. You are NOT extending student thinking until you ask students to Analyze, Create, and Evaluate.